After a few long years where we didn’t see each other in person mainly due to Covid but also a few other reasons my sister Imke visited me in West Berkshire for the August bank holiday weekend. On the Sunday we decided to drive down to the coast and visit Hengistbury Head for the day. We enjoyed some nice walking with some great views in particular to The Needles at the Isle of Wight. Take a look at the gallery with some of our favourite memories (and even some pictures of us):
Sunny beach at Hengistbury Head with Isle of WightImke on the beach at Hengistbury Head panoramaWindswept Armin resting on the beachImke having a nap in the sunArmin photographing the sea at Hengistbury HeadMudeford sandbank from aboveView from the top at Hengistbury Head. And a bird.The Needles at the Isle of Wight with passing sailing yachtsColourful Heather at Hengistbury HeadStarling on a tableLittle Egret at the Mudeford SandspitThree birds and a planeCliffs at Hengistbury Head panoramaBeach walkers at Hengistbury HeadThe Needles on the Isle of Wight behind a wave splashDog on Hengistbury Head beach with the Isle of Wight’s Needles behindBeach at Hengistbury Head with Isle of WightHengistbury Head and Isle of Wight in the evening light
We had lunch at Beach House Mudeford (pricey but nice pizzas enjoyed on the beach) and tea at the Hiker Cafe (Burger and chips). We had to be careful that the Starlings didn’t steal our chips, they are quite aggressive and fearless (please do not feed them!).
I go for a walk along the Kennet & Avon Canal every morning, on a weekday I usually walk from Aldermaston Wharf to just past The Rowbarge in Woolhampton. Over the weekends I often walk a bit further, past the old Lock Cottage towards Midgham.
Usually I’m walking with a pair of weights, today I decided to leave the weights at home and turn it into a photo walk. I left fairly early in the morning at about 6:45, which gave me some nice mild light for a while.
Here are 10 of my favourite pictures from this morning, click on the pictures for the larger version in the gallery:
(1) Swan cleaning in the morning sunshine(2) More Swan preening in the morning sun(3) Colourful canal boats on the Kennet & Avon Canal(4) Colourful canal boat stern at its mooring(5) White flower(6) Canal boat in the tree alley(7) Pepper growing in the morning sun(8) Tree reflections in the Kennet & Avon Canal(9) Bright green trees along the Kennet & Avon Canal(10) Green leaves in the sunshine
A variety of pictures, from Swans to colourful boats to beautiful trees and reflections. I hope you’ll find something you’ll like. Maybe let me know of your favourite picture(s) in the comments?
After one of the worst storms in decades hit the south of England including West Berkshire with storm Eunice on Friday 18/Feb/2022 there was a lot of damage. When I write this on Saturday afternoon the village of Aldermaston (just over a mile down the road from where I write this in Aldermaston Wharf) still hasn’t got any power and might not get it back until late in the evening or potentially even Sunday. I know of at least two trees having come down and having hit houses in Aldermaston Wharf, luckily as far as I’m aware nobody was injured (and I believe there was no serious damage to the houses). This morning I went out for my regular daily walk (slightly extended as it is Saturday, where I usually go on a longer walk than on weekdays), here is some of the storm damage I spotted along the way:
(01) Canal boat hit by fallen tree(02) Damaged solar panels on canal boat hit by fallen tree(03) Fallen tree next to a field with cows and sheep(04) Fallen tree fully blocking the towpath(05) Snapped tree next to a railway line(06) Two fallen trees blocking the towpath(07) Tree fully blocking the towpath, this is where I turned around(08) Fallen trees at a footbridge(09) Fallen tree near a boat(11) Twisted off fallen tree(10) Two fallen trees in the woods(12) Bonus: The obligatory fallen fenceStorm Eunice damage along the Kennet & Avon Canal in West Berkshire (click on the pictures for the large versions)
One of the first things I saw was also one of the scariest, a quite large tree had fallen across the canal and the top of the tree had hit a moored canal boat (Pictures 01 & 02). The owners had already cleared most of the tree off the boat and as far as I could see there was no significant damage to the boat itself, only the solar panels were rather smashed up.
Not very far down the canal along a field with cows and sheep there was more damage: Three smaller trees had been snapped off (I suspect the wind had enough space to run up across the field and hit them hard) and were pretty much blocking the towpath (pictures 03, 04 &11). I managed to squeeze past two of them, for the third one I had to climb over the fence for a short ‘detour’ across the field (luckily the cows with their calves were far away, so it was safe). Luckily I didn’t have to do that when I returned about an hour later as kind boater had taken his chainsaw to the trees and cleared the towpath.
After that it wasn’t too bad on the towpath, of course there was branch debris pretty much everywhere, but there wasn’t really any blockage. The fallen trees were either away from the towpath or left enough room to get past them without much difficulty (Pictures 05, 08, 09 & 10).
But my walk was stopped by a fallen tree just before where I usually turn around anyway on my longer weekend walks. While I just managed to squeeze past the first tree (Picture 06) the second one, a large tree covered in Ivy, fully blocked the path (Picture 07) and I couldn’t find a way past it. So I turned around and walked back to Aldermaston Wharf.
Just before arriving back home I couldn’t resist the obligatory fallen fence picture (Picture 12), I believe that’s a standard for after the storm pictures. Interestingly the fence at the communal garden below my flat was swaying precariously yesterday, I think at least one of the posts is pretty much gone. So far it’s still holding up, but will it survive the next storm?
Back in January I noticed a Squirrel in the tree just outside my window. I quickly grabbed my camera, which luckily had the big telephoto lens attached, and quickly took a few shots before the Squirrel moved on. Then something else came up and I kind of forgot about about the pictures. Today I remembered I them and decided to edit a few of them. Here’s the result, hope you like them:
Squirrel hanging from branchSquirrel grabbing some food (2)Squirrel grabbing some food (1)Squirrel eating (2)Squirrel eating (1)Squirrel outside my window (click picture for bigger version)
Considering I took these pictures through the window on a dull overcast day with not much light I’m quite please with the results (and Photoshop’s help to get the best out of them). What do you think?
On the second day of the new year 2022 I managed to get out for a short photo walk around Aldermaston Wharf, returning as the rain arriving from the west set in. I didn’t see an awful lot, but managed to capture these two Robins in the mild New Year’s sunshine high up in a tree:
Robin frontal view
Robin in full voice
Robin singing away
Robin sitting in a tree
Robin looking up
Robins in the New Year’s sunshine
As usual, click on the pictures to view the larger version and visit the gallery. I hope you enjoy the pictures of the two Robins, if I remember correctly the most popular bird in the UK.